Lesson: leverage all the tools around you and make the best out of it. You always have the tools.
I saw this quote by Roosevelt today and wanted to make a comment about it.
"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." —Teddy Roosevelt
I remembered when I was around 15. I was feeling a little down. Despite living a normal comfortable life, I couldn't help but wish that I had more resources. What resources exactly, I don't know. But I was young and stupid.
Anyway, 2 things someone said stuck with me.
Leverage all the resources you have.
Wisdom is pointless until applied. Then it becomes knowledge.
And like magic, my mind was able to strategise what I have and many years later, here I am.
Leverage
What we can, what we have, where we are. These are resources that we possess that we should leverage. For me, that means
Whatever country I am at, find its strength. Leverage that.
Opening my company when I moved back to Singapore.
Host events and meet technical people when I was in London.
Network and connect when I was in Geneva.
Party, hike and socialise when I was in Hong Kong.
Travel, explore and get connected with startups when I was in Maastricht/Amsterdam.
During lockdown, leverage digital space and communities.
What I have, be it family, friends, existing tools, free tools. Use it.
I have no qualms about asking for help. I love free tools and leverage all the "free" things until it is time to pay. That's why I put out so much free information, for I have appreciated the free knowledge/resource that have been provided to me.
I upgrade only when I am truly out of free options. Hey, you gotta leverage the free stuff!
Where we are in life is from an accumulation of past experiences unique to us. No one can take that away. That uniqueness. Tap into that. That is leverage.
Knowledge
I love reading. I used to read the news all the time and remember all the random little details. But that wisdom is pointless when it is not applied. So all those news articles and fun-fact knowledge is not so interesting. Instead, I started to apply them. It might be annoying because I can go into deep topics very quickly, but it brings more depth to conversations.
From such knowledge sharing, I learnt so much from the other person I'm conversing with. Wisdom is leverage that we can always tap into. No one can take that away. The more we tap into it, the more it grows exponentially!
Love,
L